Early morning.
Lu Yun got out of bed, ate something casually,
then planned to continue cultivating.
Unexpectedly, just then, his father Lu Xingwen suddenly pushed open the door and entered.
"I heard from that girl Ling Xue that you fainted again yesterday. How are you feeling? Better now?"
Lu Xingwen had neat features and a tall, slender build. Though he was already forty, he did not carry the greasiness of a middle-aged man at all.
Because he had practiced martial arts year-round,
he merely stood casually in the room, yet his presence was deep and steady, his body like a mountain. When he spoke, his voice was full and resonant, carrying the bearing of the head of the household.
"I'm much better now."
"Thanks..."
"for caring, Dad!"
Lu Yun replied softly.
Come to think of it,
since crossing into this world yesterday, this was the first time he had truly seen this cheap father of his.
According to the memories he had fused with,
he knew that Lu Xingwen was a genuine Innate Realm Peak expert.
Lu Xingwen nodded and said,
"It's good for young people to have drive, but your body has only just begun to recover. Don't be too eager for quick results when cultivating."
For the moment, Lu Yun did not intend to reveal that his body had fully recovered.
He merely nodded obediently and answered,
"Don't worry, Dad!"
Seeing that Lu Yun did not seem to be seriously unwell, Lu Xingwen did not say anything further.
After that,
he gave a few more reminders,
then left the room to handle other affairs at the martial arts hall.
After watching him leave,
Lu Yun let out a long breath inwardly.
After all,
before an Innate Realm Peak expert,
even if the other party did not release his aura, the pressure that hit him head-on was simply too great.
Especially after advancing to the Postnatal Realm, he could feel the gap between them with exceptional clarity.
"I'm still too weak!"
"I have to speed up my cultivation even more."
He muttered to himself inwardly.
More than ten minutes later,
in a relatively secluded open area within the martial arts hall,
Lu Yun stepped forward with his right foot. His figure flickered lightly, and he had already appeared dozens of meters away.
At the same time,
his right hand gripped the Dragon-Scale Purple-Gold Saber.
He slashed straight down with the saber.
Faint sounds of wind and thunder rose around him.
Clearly,
it contained an exceedingly terrifying force.
[ Ding! Saber technique experience +1. Congratulations, Host, you triggered a 100x critical hit. Saber technique experience +100! ]
The system notification sounded in his mind, just as expected.
"Whew..."
"If I keep improving at yesterday's rate, I'll be able to break through again very soon."
"If everything goes smoothly..."
"I'll definitely become the third Innate Realm martial artist of the Heavenly Origin Martial Arts Hall."
Lu Yun thought excitedly.
One had to know...
the reason the Heavenly Origin Martial Arts Hall could rank among Tong City's ten great martial arts halls
was, in large part,
because it had two Innate Realm experts holding the fort. The strongest among them was Lu Yun's father, Lu Xingwen.
And the other...
was Du Peng, the deputy hall master of the Heavenly Origin Martial Arts Hall, an Innate Realm Mid-Stage expert.
Of course,
what made Lu Yun so excited was not only the joy that came with a breakthrough in cultivation.
It was also that...
according to the Martial Dao Alliance's rules,
as long as a martial artist could advance into the Xiantian Realm, all kinds of benefits would rise like the tide lifting a boat.
First, their monthly allowance would soar directly from the 20,000 Star Coins of the Postnatal Realm to 100,000 Star Coins.
Second, Innate Realm martial artists would possess many special privileges.
For example,
every year, they could apply to the Martial Dao Alliance to explore the vast regions beyond the Human Base.
This kind of special treatment
was something the vast majority of people could never enjoy.
Especially over the past dozen or so years, after human cities had suffered several successive beast-tide attacks, the Martial Dao Alliance had strictly forbidden ordinary people from leaving the cities without authorization.
However, Innate Realm martial artists were not among those prohibited.
This was because Innate Realm martial artists already belonged to humanity's elite. Even if such people went to places where exotic beasts appeared, as long as they did not encounter an exotic beast above three stars, they were fully capable of protecting themselves.
"In the past..."
"those Innate experts who stood high above me in my heart..."
"I'll soon be able to reach that level too."
Lu Yun felt
that he was drawing closer and closer to the final threshold of breaking through to the Innate Realm.
The system's crisp and pleasant notifications also continued ringing in his mind.
[ Ding! Saber technique proficiency +1. Congratulations, Host, you triggered a 100x critical hit. Saber technique proficiency +100! ] [ Ding! Saber technique proficiency +1. Congratulations, Host, you triggered a 100x critical hit. Saber technique proficiency +100! ] [ Ding! Saber technique proficiency +1. Congratulations, Host, you triggered a 100x critical hit. Saber technique proficiency +100! ]
When he...
executed the final move,
Azure Dragon Emerges from Water.
Fallen leaves flew across the ground, and grit swirled wildly.
Then came a CRACK!
Not far away,
a strange rock roughly seven or eight meters tall was instantly split in two.
At that moment,
a light-screen interface popped up before his eyes once more:
Host: Lu Yun System Phase One Activated: 100x Critical Hit Amplification Martial Skill: Thousand Mountains Saber Technique (lv7 100%) Strength Level: Innate Realm Early-Stage
"Gasp..."
"Holy shit!"
"I actually... really... broke through to the Innate Realm?!"
Although he had sensed it beforehand,
when the actual data appeared in his mind, Lu Yun still felt somewhat dizzy.
In just two short hours,
he had actually...
broken through another realm so easily!
Moreover,
he had directly crossed a major realm.
A realm that others could only reach after enduring countless hardships and exhausting all their heart and blood
had been attained by him so casually, as easily as eating and drinking,
without the slightest effort.
If...
he continued developing at such a terrifying pace,
then before long,
the position of strongest expert in the Heavenly Origin Martial Arts Hall would have to change hands.
Most exciting of all...
in three more months,
he would only be sixteen years old.
To advance into an Innate Realm martial artist at such an age,
since the spiritual energy revival of Sky Net Star,
apart from Tang Maoyan, the current chief leader of the Martial Dao Alliance,
not a second person had ever succeeded.
Besides,
even the astonishingly gifted Tang Maoyan
had only finally advanced after turning sixteen.
"Hahaha!"
"The ancients truly did not deceive me!"
"With the system in hand, the world is mine."
Lu Yun excitedly waved his arm.
After advancing to an Innate Realm martial artist,
he could already freely mobilize the vast spiritual power within his body, something that could not be mentioned in the same breath as his Postnatal Realm days.
With such a terrifying cultivation speed, he had absolute confidence that he could climb yet another level.
Next,
as long as he could break through to the Primordial Astral Realm,
then,
if he encountered that assassin from that day again,
he would have absolute confidence in capturing him alive.
As for the martial artist assessment two days later, there would not be the slightest suspense. The only question was just how great a stir it would cause.
Thinking of this,
even Lu Yun himself could not help but fall into a daze.
His cultivation speed truly was a little too frightening.
By then,
perhaps...
it would not merely be little Tong City.
Even the entirety of Sky Net Star would boil over because of it!
Before you continue